Ingleton Coalfield

The lease was questioned by Henry Bouch who was lord of the manor in 1678, when pits were sunk at Bull Ing.

In 1701, Dr Thomas Moore of Lancaster, married into the Walker family and became sole owner of Ingleton Colliery in 1711.

To improve the colliery he demolished the water-wheel at Parkfoot, installed the first steam engine at Ingleton and built a house at New Winning where he sank a new shaft for a pit that was worked from 1834 to 1857.

A steam engine pumped 560 gallons of water a minute from the shaft and 20,000 cubic feet of air circulated through the workings.

Workers moved to find work in Burnley and Barnsley and some were killed in the Oaks explosion of 12 December 1866.

[6] In 1872 four experienced miners sank two new shafts at Newfield and the colliery was bought by William Bracewell, a Lancashire mill-owner to supply his mills in Barnoldswick and Colne.

After Bracewell's death the colliery suffered difficulties and was offered for sale by the trustees who had turned off the pumps at Wilsons Wood.

James Barker began working the pits on a small scale to supply the local market but was beset by litigation.

Coal mining caused subsidence and the company was unable to meet the cost of compensation and the colliery closed in 1930.

Thomas Tatham bought the mining rights in 1835 and opened Low Raygill Colliery taking coal from the abandoned pillars.

He dug a pit opposite the Wilson Wood Colliery to exploit the Six Foot seam in 1842 shortly before he was made bankrupt.

Coal outcropped by the River Greta and could be worked in shallow pits on Ingleton and Bentham Moors.

Name evidence and the first ordnance survey map suggests that the coal was raised using horse gins.

For many years there was a large water wheel that drove pumps in a drainage shaft, and it was here that Joseph Hunter built the first steam engine for Sergeantson.

Haulage roads were driven from west to east along the strike of the coal which was worked up-dip by pillar and stall.

[11] Moorgarth Collieries SD699718 The coal at Moorgath was shallow, heavily faulted and troubled by water.

He bought the clay concession from the Lord of the Manor and opened the brickworks at adjacent Great Milner, and a tramway connecting his interests to the LMS rail line at Moorgarth.

They sunk a new 22 yard deep 6 feet diameter shaft at Dolands to the Six Foot seam.

A Schiele fan for ventilation on Nellie Pit injected 5000 cubic feet of air a minute.

Pumps working at 32,000 gallons an hour were needed to drain it, and the shaft walls were lined with segmented iron castings known as tubbing to prevent water ingress.

Sinking No 1 pit (the upcast shaft) started in July 1913 and terminated on reaching 156 yards at the Ten Foot seam in November 1914.

The Ten Foot seam was excellent steam and house coal but was small in area.

Cross measure drifts were cut to the Nine Foot seam but this was lower quality coal and difficult to work and it too was abandoned in 1918.

The northern boundary was limited by the Hollintree fault and altogether 45 acres of coal was recovered.

Some success was had on the Yard Coal but the face collapsed in October 1935 and the colliery closed for good in 1936.

[21] Notes Bibliography 2: The Selby Coalfield straddled the border of North and West Yorkshire